Sick hen/droopy tail not acting normal

[azygous]

Yes, that could be an early symptom of mold exposure. You do need to find all possible sources of mold and clean it up as mold multiplies, increasing the risk.

This is where the sense of smell serves us. Mold smells bad. It's the opposite of fresh sweet bedding or fresh chicken feed. Anything with a bad smell must go. It may even involve removing a top layer of soil if the run is moldy. Mold can sicken and kill chickens.

 

[Fluff Queen]

I have checked all over the coop for any signs of mold but did not find any. I removed the top layer of the run just to be safe and I cleaned out all of their feeders/watered and nesting pads. Everyone in the flock is looking good and Carmen has shown signs of improvement. She is now eating again and her tail has been up and she has started to make noises again. Dixie is not doing well and is super lethargic and won’t eat or drink. Neither of them have laid eggs for the past few days and I did soak them just to be sure but no improvement. Since Carmen was acting normal again and clearly unhappy in her little pen I decided to put her outside, but when I did she once again wouldn’t eat and her tail was held low. The others were picking on her quite a bit so I put her back inside and she perked up again. Sorry for these long responses, this is my first flock so I don’t really have experience with sick chickens.

 

[azygous]

Did you pick up the antibiotic from your vet? Get the sick hen started on it. You should see improvement within 24 hours.

 

[Fluff Queen]

I did and I started them on it yesterday. Unfortunately when Dixie has passed away this morning. She had her head curled up under her and had been panting and drooling before she died. I did find a very large puddle of yellowish goo where she was sitting that almost looked as if it was an egg yolk. Another thought I had was that it was maybe worms. So heartbroken as she was one of my favorites.

 

[azygous]

I'm sorry. She was likely beyond the help of the antibiotic. Start Carmen on the antibiotic. It's worth a try.

 

[roxanne]

I just emailed the vet to see if I could get the antibiotics and he said he could get them to me by this afternoon. When I went out to check on her this morning though there is now another one who is showing the same symptoms although now they will not eat their food. Carmen, the one who first started showing these symptoms did peck at a few treats but did not eat her food. Dixie who started showing symptoms today did not eat anything but did drink a ton of water. When I checked her crop it wasn’t fully empty and it felt like there was still some scratch/food in there from yesterday. Could an impacted crop cause these symptoms as well? They are currently standing in a corner with their tails down and looking a bit puffed up, although Dixie is looking worse than carmen now.

I wouldn’t take one opinion as the gospel. They could been egg bound, have worms, etc.. if they are are both showing the same signs, it is very likely something that could spread throughout the flock. I would separate these two from your flock and then find out what is going on with them before putting them back

 

[Fluff Queen]

I wouldn’t take one opinion as the gospel. They could been egg bound, have worms, etc.. if they are are both showing the same signs, it is very likely something that could spread throughout the flock. I would separate these two from your flock and then find out what is going on with them before putting them back

they were showing the same symptoms so I put them both in the garage. I was out of town last week so I was gone when they started to show symptoms. I really have no idea what it could be. The rest of the flock is acting normal and looking healthy and laying really well. Carmen has been sick for about a week now but as of today she seems to be doing much better. eating and drinking on her own and starting to talk a little bit again. I don't know why Dixie died when she was wasn't sick as long and didn't have as bad of symptoms.

 

[Fluff Queen]

Ok, so I am very confused. Today Carmen will not eat or drink by herself so I am giving her water through an eyedropper. I also made her a mash with her normal feed but she will only eat that if I feed her by hand. I added shavings to her little pen but now she seems to be eating a ton of them even though she has food in the pen. She really is a weird little chicken.

 

[azygous]

If I had a patient like Carmen, I would temporarily install her in a crate on some old absorbent towels and tube feed her a few times a day to fill her crop and keep her hydrated. You can get a tube feeding kit for a small animal from your vet for a few dollars. I can instruct you how to use it. It's really very easy.

 

[Fluff Queen]

that would be great and I would appreciate the help! She really is a sweet bird so I would hate to lose her. I can swing by the vet tomorrow once they open up.